GILLS YOUTH 1-3 COLCHESTER

Gills youth side were beaten 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, with two early goals proving decisive for the visitors.

The hosts got one back to put Colchester under pressure, but they paid for their missed chances and the U's slotted home an important third goal to take the plaudits.

Speaking to the club website Darren Hare said: “We didn’t start too well in that game and we went behind 2-0 quite early on, but we then got back in it.

"They were unbeaten in six games so they are a good side – they are trying to go category two and have had a lot of investment and have a lot more staff and it showed.

“While it’s down to the players it showed that they are an academy looking to invest big time in trying to produce their own players. It was a very good game and it could have gone either way.

“At 2-1 we had chances – one was cleared off the line and if we had scored it would have been interesting to see if the momentum shifted but we then conceded another goal and unfortunately we couldn’t get back in the game.

“Colchester were better than us on the day but there were a few key moments that dictated who was in charge and, is quite often the case with young players, goals do have a strange effect on their mental approach and we just didn’t have enough in our locker to get back in it."